Title: A little more of this, a little less of that...
Review: Less a book than a book-length sort of reportage, Asphalt Nation builds the case against the automobile to almost absurd heights. After reading the first half of the book, you wonder why cars are even legal in this country! Cars pollute, pollution is toxic, OK, we get that. Enough already.I was more taken with the second part, where Kay reports the history of how automobiles, and specifically traffic planners, conspired to create the sprawling, pedestrian-hostile multilane disaster we call the modern American city. This portion of the book was fascinating, and I would have liked twice as much of it.At the end of the day, however, I was hoping the author would have a more nuanced and thoughtful point of view than, "Cars are bad, walking is good." I already knew that. Still and all, a great book if you're inclined to think that maybe what your city needs is NOT one or two more left-turn lanes.
Is this product review negative?