Tag Archives: cities

Amsterdam

Posted on January 16, 2018 by smellincoffee

Amsterdam: A History of the World’s Most Liberal City© 2013 Russell Shorto369 pages In the early 14th century, a group of fisher-folk around the Amstel river came together with a dream: to build a place where people could smoke weed … Continue reading →

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A Burglar’s Guide to the City

Posted on September 18, 2017 by smellincoffee

A Burglar’s Guide to the City© 2016 Geoff Manaugh304 pages There’s really no resisting a title like that, is there?  Mind, it’s not accurate;  this isn’t a guide to how burglars read architecture, a catalog of vulnerabilities that homeowners and … Continue reading →

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Infrastructure: A Field Guide

Posted on September 14, 2017 by smellincoffee

Infrastructure: A Field Guide to the Industrial Landscape© 1999, 2014 Brian Hayes544 pages Here at last is a book for those of us who constantly gaze out the car window at the fixtures on utility poles, or drums mounted in … Continue reading →

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On Bikes

Posted on January 26, 2017 by smellincoffee

On Bicycles: 50 Ways the New Bike Culture Can Change Your Life© 2011 ed. Amy Walker384 pages On Bicycles collects fifty cycling pieces, collecting in categories on why biking is awesome, how gear can make it better, how biking can … Continue reading →

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The Big Necessity

Posted on January 21, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Big Necessity: the Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why it Matters © 2008, 2014 Rose George 238 pages In its initial publication, The Big Necessity may have been an eye-opening look into how many human beings still suffer … Continue reading →

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In the City of Bikes

Posted on January 13, 2017 by smellincoffee

In the City of Bikes: the Story of the Amsterdam Cyclist© 2013 Pete Jordan448 pages “It is quite possible that all the bicycles in the world are not in Amsterdam, but you’ll never be able to convince me.”  American tourist, … Continue reading →

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The Works

Posted on November 25, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Works: Anatomy of a City© 2005  Kate Ascher240 pages Cities are, for my money, mankind’s most astonishing invention. Their complexity is stupefying — system within system, handling tons of material at any given time, whether the subject is cars … Continue reading →

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Divided Highways

Posted on November 7, 2016 by smellincoffee

Divided Highways: Building the Interstate Highways, Transforming American Life©  Tom Lewis 2007, 2013416 pages No engineering project in the United States is more impressive than the interstate system; dense with the connections of a street grid, it serves not blocks … Continue reading →

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Big Box Swindle

Posted on June 5, 2016 by smellincoffee

Big Box Swindle:  The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America’s Independent Businesses© 2006 Stacy Mitchell336 pages What happened? Where did America go? ..everything’s Wal-Mart all the time, no more mom & pop five and dime.. (Merle Haggard, … Continue reading →

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On the Grid

Posted on May 14, 2016 by smellincoffee

On the Grid: A Plot of Land, an Average Neighborhood, and the Systems That Make Our World Work© 2010 Scott Huler256 pages If modern humans have retained a penchant for magical thinking, little wonder. Our homes accomplish marvels seemingly by the … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments