Iowa City: An Illustrated History looks not only at the pioneer past, already well explored, but also at the recent past, where the dust has barely settled. The book takes its readers in words and pictures from the rising brick walls of early Iowa City to the falling and rising brick walls of urban renewal - and beyond. Meanwhile, the parallel stories of Johnson County and the University of Iowa unfold. With eyes, mind, and cameras, Gerald Mansheim observes, and for more than thirty-five years Iowa City has been the main object of his observation. In line with his interest in historic preservation and his practice of architectural photography, he emphasizes buildings, which by their presence or absence most vividly show what Iowa City has gained and lost over the past century and a half. In this sesquicentennial volume he presents, in illustration of a consecutive book-length history, 365 captioned black-and-white photographs and twenty-three color photographs of Iowa City and its surroundings. Iowa Citians, long in residence or lately arrived, tend to be investigative, literate, and interactive, capable of distinguishing between history and public relations handouts. Consequently Gerald Mansheim, in support of a remarkable collection of photographs, illustrations, and maps, has written them a real history.