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OverviewFor most people in the United States, going almost anywhere begins with reaching for the car keys. This is true, Christopher Wells argues, because the United States is Car Country-a nation dominated by landscapes that are difficult, inconvenient, and often unsafe to navigate by those who are not sitting behind the wheel of a car. The prevalence of car-dependent landscapes seems perfectly natural to us today, but it is, in fact, a relatively new historical development. In Car Country, Wells rejects the idea that the nation's automotive status quo can be explained as a simple byproduct of an ardent love affair with the automobile. Instead, he takes readers on a tour of the evolving American landscape, charting the ways that transportation policies and land-use practices have combined to reshape nearly every element of the built environment around the easy movement of automobiles. Wells untangles the complicated relationships between automobiles and the environment, allowing readers to see the everyday world in a completely new way. The result is a history that is essential for understanding American transportation and land-use issues today. Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48LTKOxxrXQ Full Product DetailsAuthor: Christopher W. Wells , William CrononPublisher: University of Washington Press Imprint: University of Washington Press Dimensions: Width: 15.20cm , Height: 3.20cm , Length: 22.90cm Weight: 0.680kg ISBN: 9780295994291ISBN 10: 0295994290 Pages: 464 Publication Date: 01 August 2014 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsForeword by William Cronon Acknowledgments Prologue: A Car of One’s Own Part One | Before the Automobile, 1880-1905 1. Roads and Reformers Part Two | Dawn of the Motor Age, 1895-1919 2. Automotive Pioneers 3. Building for Traffic Photo Gallery One Part Three | Creating Car Country, 1919-1941 4. Motor-Age Geography 5. Fueling the Boom 6. The Paths Out of Town Photo Gallery Two Part Four | New Patterns, New Standards, New Landscapes, 1940-1960 7. Suburban Nation Epilogue | Reaching for the Car Keys Notes Selected Bibliography IndexReviewsOne of the great strengths of the book is Wells's meticulous work in revealing how the institutional, economic, and mental arrangements supporting 'Car Country' were set in place during the interwar years.... Wells's book is a remarkable achievement.--Theodore Strathman Southern California Quarterly [T]he book is a fresh, well-documented history of roadbuilding policies in the United States between 1900 and 1960.--James M. Rubenstein Journal of American History (01/01/2014) Author InformationChristopher W. Wells is associate professor of environmental history at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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