Imagine a City : A Pilot's Journey Across the Urban World

\*\*A Financial Times Best Summer Book of 2022\*\* 'A journey around both the author's mind and the planet's great cities that leaves us energised, open to new experiences and ready to return more hopefully to our lives' ALAIN DE BOTTON 'A moving account of personal unbelonging' THE TIMES 'Vanhoenacker... has a near-bottomless appetite for fresh sights and guidebook curiosities... Intimate and thoughtful' PICO IYER, AIR MAIL \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Growing up in his small hometown, Mark Vanhoenacker spun the illuminated globe in his bedroom and dreamt of elsewhere - of distant, real cities, and a perfect metropolis that existed only in his imagination. These places were sources of endless fascination and escape: streets unspooled, towers shone, and anonymous crowds bustled in cities where Mark could be anyone - perhaps even himself. Now, as a commercial airline pilot, Mark has spent nearly two decades crossing the skies of our planet, touching down in the cities he imagined as a child. He experiences these metropolises in short layover visits that repeat month after month and year after year, giving him a unique perspective on the places that form our urban world. Interweaving travelogue with memoir, Mark celebrates the cities he has come to know and love through the lens of the hometown his heart has never left. Exploring the emblematic facets of each city's identity - the sweeping roads of Los Angeles, the old gates of Jeddah, the intricate, dream-inspired plan of Brasília - he shows us with warmth and fresh eyes the extraordinary places that billions of us call home. 'A love letter to the cities he's returned to again and again... Vanhoenacker captivates when describing the silent beauty of a world glimpsed from above' Washington Post 'Enriching... Luminous... A touching survey of human dreams and endeavours' PATRICK GALE 'Will transport you around the globe and back again without leaving your seat' MARK OVENDEN, author of Airline Maps and London Underground by Design This love letter to the cities of the world--from the airline pilot-author of Skyfaring --is "a journey around both the author's mind and the planet's great cities that leaves us energized, open to new experiences and ready to return more hopefully to our lives" (Alain de Botton, author of The Art of Travel ). In his small New England hometown, Mark Vanhoenacker spent his childhood dreaming of elsewhere-- of the distant, real cities he found on the illuminated globe in his bedroom, and of one perfect metropolis that existed only in his imagination. These cities were the sources of endless comfort and escape, and of a lasting fascination. Streets unspooled, towers shone, and anonymous crowds bustled in the places where Mark hoped he could someday be anyone--perhaps even himself. Now, as a commercial airline pilot, Mark has spent nearly two decades crossing the skies of our planet and touching down in dozens of the storied cities he imagined as a child. He experiences these destinations during brief stays that he repeats month after month and year after year, giving him an unconventional and uniquely vivid perspective on the places that form our urban world. In this intimate yet expansive work that weaves travelogue with memoir, Mark celebrates the cities he has come to know and to love, through the lens of the hometown his heart has never quite left. As he explores emblematic facets of each city's identity-- the road signs of Los Angeles, the old gates of Jeddah, the snowy streets of Sapporo--he shows us with warmth and fresh eyes the extraordinary places that billions of us call home. This love letter to the cities of the world — from the airline pilot – author of Skyfaring — is "a journey around both the author's mind and the planet's great cities that leaves us energized, open to new experiences and ready to return more hopefully to our lives" (Alain de Botton, author of The Art of Travel). In his small New England hometown, Mark Vanhoenacker spent his childhood dreaming of elsewhere — of the distant, real cities he found on the illuminated globe in his bedroom, and of one perfect metropolis that existed only in his imagination. These cities were the sources of endless comfort and escape, and of a lasting fascination. Streets unspooled, towers shone, and anonymous crowds bustled in the places where Mark hoped he could someday be anyone — perhaps even himself. Now, as a commercial airline pilot, Mark has spent nearly two decades crossing the skies of our planet and touching down in dozens of the storied cities he imagined as a child. He experiences these destinations during brief stays that he repeats month after month and year after year, giving him an unconventional and uniquely vivid perspective on the places that form our urban world. In this intimate yet expansive work that weaves travelogue with memoir, Mark celebrates the cities he has come to know and love, through the lens of the hometown his heart has never quite left. As he explores emblematic facets of each city’s identity — the road signs of Los Angeles, the old gates of Jeddah, the snowy streets of Sapporo — he shows us with warmth and fresh eyes the extraordinary places that billions of us call home. In his small New England hometown, Mark Vanhoenacker spent his childhood dreaming of elsewhere-- of the distant, real cities he found on the illuminated globe in his bedroom, and of one perfect metropolis that existed only in his imagination. These cities were the sources of endless comfort and escape, and of a lasting fascination. Streets unspoiled, towers shone, and anonymous crowds bustled in the places where Mark hoped he could someday be anyone--perhaps even himself. Now, as a commercial airline pilot, Mark has spent nearly two decades crossing the skies of our planet and touching down in dozens of the storied cities he imagined as a child. He experiences these destinations during brief stays that he repeats month after month and year after year, giving him an unconventional and uniquely vivid perspective on the places that form our urban world