Tag Archives: transportation

The Great Railroad Revolution

Posted on December 31, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Great Railroad Revolution: A History of Trains in America© 2012 Christian Wolmar448 pages The United States’ history is one written with novelty: born in the dawn of the industrial age,  America was a blank slate for technologies with the … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on Building Strong Towns

Posted on October 20, 2012 by smellincoffee

Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume I© 2012 Chuck Marohn174 pages$9.95  In California, school districts are being forced to suspend their bus routes. In Alabama,  Jefferson County – home to the state’s largest city, Birmingham – has gone bankrupt. Basic … Continue reading →

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The Artificial River

Posted on July 31, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Artificial River: the Erie Canal and the Paradox of Progress, 1817-1867© 1997 Carol Sheriff272 pages At the dawn of a new century, the two-decade old American republic stood hemmed in between storm-tossed Atlantic ocean and the towering Appalachian mountains. … Continue reading →

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The Green Metropolis

Posted on June 30, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less Are the Keys to Sustainability© 2009 David Owen357 pages Green is probably not the word that comes to mind at the mention of Manhattan, but to David Owen, few … Continue reading →

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Books in the News

Posted on June 4, 2012 by smellincoffee

Every so often I see news articles which touch on subjects I’ve been reading about; I used to link to them in weekly review posts from time to time, but I may start doing it in this format. For Consuming … Continue reading →

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Suburban Nation

Posted on June 2, 2012 by smellincoffee

Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream© 2000, 2010 Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck294 pages Compare a modern American city to its European counterparts, or even an older American city, and the … Continue reading →

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Traffic

Posted on May 30, 2012 by smellincoffee

Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us)© 2008 Tom Vanderbilt402 pages  Take a brain adapted to move a bit over a hundred pounds of flesh at speeds under 20 miles per hour, and … Continue reading →

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Blood, Iron, and Gold

Posted on April 7, 2012 by smellincoffee

Blood, Iron, and Gold: How the Railways Transformed the World© 2009 Christian Wolmar376 pages Outside of the wheel, the railways may be the single most influential form of transportation ever invented by human beings. This is a bold claim, but … Continue reading →

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Asphalt Nation

Posted on February 14, 2012 by smellincoffee

Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took Over America and How We Can Take It Back© 1997 Jane Holtz Kay418 pages Lord, Mister Ford, I just wish you could see what your simple horseless carriage has become! It seems your contribution … Continue reading →

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