Book review: 5 Cities That Ruled The World by Douglas Wilson

Douglas Wilson's 5 Cities That Ruled The World kind of left me wondering: did I just read a book, or the pitch for a historical travelogue show on a Christian TV network? It wasn't a bad book at all, it just didn't really have the feel of a book. It was more like the fleshed-out notes for a series of lectures. The premise is that the 5 cities: Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London and New York have each exercised a lasting influence over world culture, and each have symbolized the progress of liberty, Jerusalem liberty through spirituality, Athens liberty through democracy, Rome liberty through law, London liberty through letters, and New York liberty through commerce.

There isn't much evidence offered for the progress of liberty idea. Most of what you get is a tour guide summary of the history of each of the cities. Like I said, the book has the feel of a TV travelogue show. There are plenty of gossipy bits thrown in, like Mr. Wilson's belief that the gold of Ophir that enriched Solomon actually coming from Central America via Phoenician traders, or that the works of Shakespeare were written by Edward de Vere, and there are a host of jokes that probably worked OK in a lecture, but just didn't make the transition to ink very well. It was an easy read, but I was left wondering if it was really worth the effort.

5 Cities that Ruled the World can get you through a rainy day or a long layover at an airport, but I'm not sure how much of it is gonna be percolating through your mind a week later.