“People who design machines and airplanes {or buildings}, no matter how much they believe that what they do is good, the winds of time eventually turn them into tools of industrial civilization. They’re cursed dreams. Animation, too. Beautiful yet cursed dreams.”
― Hayao Miyazaki
I know he made up a lot of it, claiming that he'd rather indulge a liberating madness than an oppressive rationality, but I was surprised to learn how much of it is... Archaeologically sound. The idea of cities being the beginning of class and major climate change is true, and the poetic language of it gives emotional weight to facts that are already compelling.
I read Against the Grain (PDF) first, which is the just facts archaeological / political science version. Then I read AH,AL second and it let me think about ATG in some deeper ways I wouldn't have otherwise. Sort of like reading theory and then thinking about it on mushrooms.