The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition
by James Howard Kunstler
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"In the Geography of Nowhere, James Howard Kunstler declared suburbia "a tragic landscape of cartoon architecture, junked cities, and ravaged countryside" and put himself at the heart of a fierce debate over how we will live in twenty-first century America. Now, Kunstler turns his wickedly mordant and astute eye on urban life both in America and across the world. From classical Rome to the "gigantic hairball" of contemporary Atlanta, he offers a far-reaching discourse on the history and show more current state of urban life." "The City in Mind tells the story of urban design and how the architectural makeup of a city directly influences its culture as well as its success. From the ingenious architectural design of Louis-Napoleon's renovation of Paris to the bloody collision of cultures that occurred when Cortes conquered the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, from the grandiose architectural schemes of Hitler and Albert Speer to the meanings behind the ludicrous spectacle of Las Vegas, Kunstler opens up a new dialogue on the development and effects of urban construction. In his investigations, he discovers American communities in the Sunbelt and Southwest alienated from each other and themselves, Northeastern cities caught between their initial civic construction and our current car-obsessed society, and a disparate Europe with its mix of pre-industrial creativity, and war-marked reminders of the twentieth century."--Jacket. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Interesting tidbits, biting commentary, exaggerated prose. Snapshots of some cities through the lens of a very biased mind -- but not really a balanced perspective of city life. Also, the author has an annoying tendency to assume I know more about architecture than I do!
The chapter on Atlanta especially interest me, in light of what is going on right now with the "meltdown" and the energy crisis. (I write in June 2009 when there is nothing but bad news in the papers and on the televions). The author gives sketches of selected cities from around the world, and has selected Atlanta as one of these cities. The point of his chapter is that Atlantans have built larger and larger house further out into the suburbs and when the oil crisis really hits these "Mcmansions" will in fact turn into slums.
Perceptive, well written, cautionary, even frightening.
Perceptive, well written, cautionary, even frightening.
Kunstler is a Rush Limbaugh type entertainer. He dishes out a steady diet of entertaining insults because he is paid for it. That is the deal when you pay for one of his books. I advise you to not pay more than 50 cents, because it gets tiring really fast.
He sounds like an aristocrat who has fallen on hard times and is now reduced to peddling romantic pseudo-radicalism to get by.
He sounds like an aristocrat who has fallen on hard times and is now reduced to peddling romantic pseudo-radicalism to get by.
MCPS 307.76
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38+ Works 5,261 Members
James Howard Kunstler is the author of four nonfiction books and eleven novels. He has participated in TED conferences and lectured at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, MIT, and many other colleges, and has appeared before professional organizations that include the American Institute of Architects, the American Psychological Association, and the show more National Trust for Historic Preservation. He lives in upstate New York. show less
Classifications
- Genres
- Sociology, Nonfiction, Art & Design, General Nonfiction, History
- DDC/MDS
- 307.76 — Society, government, & culture Social sciences, sociology & anthropology Communities Specific kinds of communities Urban communities
- LCC
- HT119 .K86 — Social sciences Communities. Classes. Races Communities. Classes. Races Urban groups. The city. Urban sociology
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 259
- Popularity
- 125,033
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.65)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 2
