I would have kids read this book to go along with history lessons from similar time periods. We could get out a map and discuss historical and cultural traits of different cities. ( )

Panoramas were the IMAX of the 19th century, combining entertainment and learning. Invented already at the end of the 18th century, it allowed the audience to travel to places unseen at little cost. Exotic locations and the wonders of nature, especially the Alps, were one of the most common subjects. City panoramas of London, Florence or Paris were popular too - and worked both ways: John Ruskin confirmed that Florence looked exactly as he had seen it multiple times in a London panorama. Religious themes, such as the crucification. Finally, immersive historical battles from the battle of the Nile to Waterloo to Gettysburg and Stalingrad helped make history accessible in a Disney Pirates of the Caribbean way. Faux terrain, puppets. light and smell assisted in placing the audience into the center of the action.

The decline of the panoramas happened with the advent of cinema. Panoramas were expensive to produce, fragile and highly combustible. Given the limited re-viewability (nuts like Ruskin excepted) and the high fixed cost, one after another of the original panoramas disappeared. The lucky survivors are mostly associated with battlefield museums, churches or the government.

Growing up in panorama-rich Switzerland (currently three, soon four), I love to visit these 19th and 20th century relics. Computer animation still cannot offer the 360 degree view of standing in the midst of marshal Ney's desperate charge against the British squares at Waterloo (represented in Comment's book only by a tiny picture). The highlight of the book are its many extensible four page panorama spreads that allow the viewer to grasp some of the majesty of the paintings. The text offers a fine introduction to a now lost commercial art. Its commercial drive triggered and doomed the works, few of which survive, battered and neglected. The internet with its ability for virtual travel comes to the rescue, so that one can at least pre-view some of them from home. The acquisition of this book is highly recommended. ( )