Political Science City Planning & Urban Development
Straphanger
Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Canada
- Initial publish date
- Apr 2012
- Category
- City Planning & Urban Development, Urban
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781443411431
- Publish Date
- Apr 2012
- List Price
- $11.99
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Description
Taras Grescoe has written books that have changed the way we look at illicit substances, in The Devil’s Picnic, and how we think about the world’s seafood, in Bottomfeeder. In Straphanger, Grescoe hits the commuter road in a global quest to understand and illuminate the challenges of the post-automobile age.
Straphanger is not just another attack on automobiles and suburban sprawl but the most entertaining and most thorough examination of global car culture yet written, and an empowering tool kit for anybody looking for alternatives to a car-based lifestyle. Ultimately, its subject is the city, and it offers a global tour of alternatives to car-based living told through encounters with bicycle commuters, subway engineers, professional boulevardiers, idealistic mayors and disillusioned trolley campaigners. Along the way, Grescoe meets libertarian apologists for the automobile, urban planners who defend sprawl, champions of hydrogen and biofuels, and traffic engineers fighting to reduce congestion.
In a world of skyrocketing gas prices and political unrest in the oil-rich corners of the world, Straphanger is an essential book that addresses one of the most critical discussions of the near future.
About the author
TARAS GRESCOE is the author of four books, including the bestselling Bottomfeeder, which won the 2008 Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize and the Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-fiction. Two other titles, Sacré Blues and The End of Elsewhere, were shortlisted for Writers’ Trust awards. His work has appeared in a great variety of major publications including The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, Gourmet, The Globe and Mail, Canadian Geographic, The Times (UK) and The Independent. He lives in Montreal. Visit him online at www.tarasgrescoe.com.
Other titles by
The Lost Supper
Searching for the Future of Food in the Tastes of the Past
The Lost Supper
Searching for the Future of Food in the Flavors of the Past
Shanghai Grand
Forbidden Love and International Intrigue on the Eve of the Second World War
Taras Grescoe Three-Book Bundle
The Devil's Picnic, Bottomfeeder, and Straphanger
Straphanger
The Devil's Picnic
Travels Through the Underworld of Food and Drink
Bottomfeeder
A Seafood Lover's Journey to the End of the Food Chain
Bottomfeeder
Devils Picnic
The End of Elsewhere
Travels Among the Tourists