In honor of Madison's 150th anniversary this year, city resident Stuart Levitan came out with the first book in a two-part series Wednesday to celebrate the city and document its long history.

Levitan's book, "Madison: The Illustrated Sesquicentennial History," features photographs and diagrams showing the original zoning and layout of the city. He said many of the photographs in the book are original drawings and creations to show the history and progression of Madison.

"It's a great book," Levitan said. "We have such tremendous records and resources here in Madison. It's a great opportunity."

The book received praise at the initial book signing from Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who thanked Levitan for his hard work and dedication to the city of Madison. Levitan's work is the first volume of a two-part series and covers the years 1856-1931.

"It's remarkable how hard Stuart worked," Cieslewicz said. "It is great for the city, and it will be enduring for decades and decades to come."

According to Sheila Leary, interim director of the University of Wisconsin Press, Levitan served on several city-zoning committees and is an established politician, writer and journalist. Leary said Levitan offers a "different perspective" than any previous authors of Madison historical books.

Another focus of the book was the origin of names in the community and the university. In the book, Levitan explored the history behind important figures like Henry Vilas, Leary said.

"One of the big themes in the book is the way that decisions about land use and planning can affect the city for the next several hundred years," she added. "The second volume is going to be really exciting because no one has [written] from the 1930s forward yet."

Tracy Will, the author of the second book, said he and Levitan came up with the idea for the project about a year-and-a-half ago. Will's book will focus on Madison from the Depression Era until present day, a section of time he said no other book has explored.

So far, Will said his complementary book contains more than 400 photos and will probably be finished within the next eight months. Will added that the books will be one of the best collections of photographs of the Madison area ever accumulated.

"I'm familiar with the territory, and I've lived in Madison since 1970," he said. "The opportunity came up and I said, 'I've written a couple other books — what the heck.'"

But as far as the book's production, designer Jane Tenenbaum said the project was difficult to work on because it included so many pictures, maps and graphics. At times, she added, she had to fit more than seven elements on a page and try to make them fit.

Yet Tenenbaum said despite difficulties, Levitan's book turned out better than expected.

"The book was so different because it was conceived as a magazine layout," Tenenbaum said. "I think it was successful, but it was a lot of work — the more I worked, the more easily it flowed and the more I was impressed by it."