I wanted to browse your first link, but Amazon shows the preface, table of contents, and the index, which are the only parts of the book I don't really care about when I'm flipping through a book!

I wish Amazon would show a few random pages from the middle--the actual content of the book--so we can see what we're going to be reading. It seems like common sense.

Me too, sorry.

If a library is nearby, you could look at it there, or even check it out: http://www.worldcat.org/title/works-anatomy-of-a-city/

Don't blame Amazon, blame the publishers.