Urbanatomy: Shanghai 2008 | 
 enlarge | Author: Urbanatomy Guides
Creators: Nick Land, Various
Publisher: China Intercontinental Press
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $17.00
You Save: $2.95 (15%)
New (2) from $17.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 317972
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 600
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.6 x 1.3
ISBN: 7508511735
EAN: 9787508511733
ASIN: 7508511735
Publication Date: February 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
China's largest, fastest and most spectacular city is opened up as never before by this lavishly illustrated 600-page book. Combining the advantages of a helpful guidebook and trusted reference work, it presents a comprehensive portrait of Shanghai's physical, social, cultural, technological and economic existence precisely, accessibly and graphically. Taking maximum advantage of local and international expertise, it strikes the optimum balance between intimate familiarity and objective perspective. The world's most dramatic Shanghai photography and artistic images complement a mix of descriptive and analytical articles to detail the attractions, character and contours of a city in flux.
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| Customer Reviews:
 at last! a Shanghai resource for residents and serious travelers! August 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was excited about the publication of this book and excited by the review by Bill Heaton (above). Having relied heavily on the "insider's Guide to Beijing" (q.v.) while in that city, this book is somewhat similar and a God-send for those moving to or traveling in Shanghai, with many easy to use features (see the customer images at the top).
Written by and for people living in the metropolis, it is half practical information and half "whys and wherefores" of this rapidly changing city. The photographs alone merit hours of study and I really appreciated the informative text boxes throughout.
I do have a couple of peeves however, both of which I'm sure will be addressed in updated edition. 1) it desperately needs Chinese characters for names and addresses in the sidebars that flank each page. Knowing that the restaurant is called "Café Montmartre" is of no practical use in trying to tell a taxi driver or asking directions without the Chinese characters, and this is only availible in an exceedingly small, light font in the back of the index (and in the index, only the names are given in Chinese...to discover the street name in Chinese you have to look in yet a third place!). 2) The maps in this book are next to no help. Each of the 12 zones described in the book begins with a map, but there is no overarching map to situate the zones. Where the heck IS Zone 5: Luwan?? Is it North or South of Suzhou Creek? What other zones is it next to? Also, while the names of the streets are in Chinese and English, none of the maps have any of the venues marked on them, so that can be frustrating.
I think this is a GREAT start, and I'm sure that with some tweaking the next edition will become an urban legend!
 Wow - Shanghai is exploding right now April 14, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Got my hands on an Urbanatomy Shanghai book from my friend who has just come back from there on holiday. This book is crazy - it covers about every inch of the city. It is kind of split into two parts - the front focusing oneach area of the city, the back on a load of sub-categories like food, economics etc.
Never seen a guide, well this is more than a guide I suppose, that is like this as it goes into areas that you wouldn't normally see. And its all written like a Shanghai lovefest! There are loads of stunning photos in it too, particularly this guy Heungman who has done an entire Noir series of the huge construction there.
The titles are interesting enough themselves with sections like - "soaring and sinking - a city built on tofu" and "doors of perception - creative visions in an opened Shanghai."
It's good for a guide, or like me someone who is just interested in foreign cities - a real eye-opener about what will no doubt be one of the most fascinating cities for years to come.
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