Examining the relationship between city planning and politics, this book analyzes a handful of exemplary cities - Washington D.C., Berlin, Canberra and New Dehli - each of which underwent major reconstruction during the years spanning the turn of the 20th century and the advent of World War I. The book also discusses the failed plans for the World Centre of Communication, an attempt at creating an international city of peace in 1913. Because this era was marked by the heyday of imperialism and its related illusions of grandeur, the book evokes the clashing and melding of political and architectural ideals - a conundrum that continues to plague city planners today.