Eleven essays explore the European urban experience of war in the 20th century. Presented by Funck (Philipps-U. in Marburg, Germany) and Chickering (history, Gerogetown U., US) the contributions explore the ways urban administrators and planners responded to urban vulnerability from the air, touching upon such topics as attempts to camouflage cities to make them "illegible" to bombers and the transformation of cities through wholesale evacuation of populations. They also examine daily urban experiences of siege and occupation, the enactment of urban ritual and theatre in wartime, and the reconstruction of cities after the destruction of war. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)