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The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition

by James Howard Kunstler

The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

An in-depth investigation of the developments of urban environments and how we are affected by it The City in Mind is a far-reaching discourse on the history and current state of urban life. Kunstler reflects on various and diverse cities across the world and investigates the nature and character of their city lives. From London to Mexico City, he takes an in-depth look at each city's history, development and state of architectural and societal success. Other cities explored include Rome, Berlin and Paris. In his investigations, he discovers a disparate Europe with its mix of pre-industrial creativity, war-marked reminders of the twentieth century, and the architectural aftermath of World War II, modernism, and for some, the Cold War. In his discussions on Western culture, Kunstler expands the notions of urbanism first discussed by Jane Jacobs. His examination of cities is at once a concise history of their urban lives and a detailed criticism of how those histories have either aided or hindered the social and civil progress of the cities' occupants.

Review:

"An absolutely brilliant collection of essays on cities and why they do and don't work through time and around the globe." Kevin Baker, author of Paradise Alley

Review:

Lloyd EbyThe WorldandIKunstler's acerbic opinions and mastery of the apposite phrase, occurring on nearly every page, make for exhilarating reading.

Review:

Sam MorrisSan Francisco ChronicleKunstler brings a real-world practicality that's lacking in too many books about cities. He's a thorough reporter, with a lively style.

Review:

Michael FainelliThe Christian Science MonitorDisturbing others' sense of normality is something Kunstler does well...everyone who knows his work acknowledges his power to wake up a crowd.

Synopsis:

The highly opinionated author of "The Geography of Nowhere" now turns his attention to eight cities here and abroad, issuing an engaging report on their state at the turn of the new century. 15 illustrations.

Synopsis:

In the highly acclaimed The Geography of Nowhere, James Howard Kunstler declared suburbia "a tragic landscape" and fueled a fierce debate over how we will live in twenty-first-century America. Here, Kunstler turns his discerning eye to urban life in America and beyond in dazzling excursions to classical Rome, the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, Louis-Napoleon's Paris, the "gigantic hairball" that is contemporary Atlanta, the ludicrous spectacle of Las Vegas, and more. Seeking to discover what is constant and enduring in cities at their greatest, Kunstler explores how America got lost in suburban wilderness and locates pathways that might lead to civic revival. His authoritative tour is both a concise history of cities and a stunning critique of how they can aid or hinder social and civil progress. By turns dramatic and comic, The City in Mind is an exceptional glimpse into the urban condition.

About the Author

James Howard Kunstler is the author of two previous nonfiction books, The Geography of Nowhere and Home from Nowhere, and eight novels. His articles appear regularly in The New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, Slate, and Metropolis.

Table of Contents

Contents

Preface

PARIS The Achievements of Napoleon III and Georges Eugène Haussman

ATLANTA Does Edge City Have a Future?

MEXICO CITY The End of the World and Other Cataclysms

BERLIN The Paradoxes of History

LAS VEGAS Utopia of Clowns

ROME In Search of the Classical

BOSTON Overcoming History and Modernism

LONDON Landscape as the Cure for Cities

Notes

Index

Product Details

ISBN:
9780743227230
Subtitle:
Meditations on the Urban Condition
Author:
Kunstler, James Howard
Publisher:
Free Press
Subject:
General
Subject:
Civilization
Subject:
Sociology - Urban
Subject:
Cities and towns
Subject:
Civilization
Subject:
General Social Science
Copyright:
Edition Description:
B102
Publication Date:
January 2003
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
288
Dimensions:
8.58x5.88x.73 in. .60 lbs.

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