Winner of the Joseph Levenson Post-1900 Book Prize
This cultural study of public space examines the cityscape of Taipei,
Taiwan, in rich descriptive prose. Contemplating a series of seemingly
banal subjects--maps, public art, parks--Joseph Allen peels back layers
of obscured history to reveal forces that caused cultural objects to be
celebrated, despised, destroyed, or transformed as Taipei experienced
successive regime changes and waves of displacement. In this thoughtful
stroll through the city, we learn to look beyond surface ephemera,
moving from the general to the particular to see sociocultural phenomena
in their historical and contemporary contexts.
Watch the book trailer: https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBdGIoox7zM