BOOK REVIEWS
Books are important. CharacterTowns.org selects and discusses current publications and works from previous generations that still hold wisdom for contemporary city-building. The review also includes published reviews and Youtube links to discussions by or about the author. Books are selected from the attached Suggested Readings.
The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformations, Its Prospects by Lewis Mumford
Character Town Commentary. Lewis Mumford became famous because of this book; he won the National Book Award for non-fiction in […]
The Company Town
The Company Town [2010] describes an idea we associate with the turn of the 19th century when, in fact, it […]
The Death and Life of Main Street
Small Towns in American Memory, Space, and Community by Miles Orvell From Amazon… “For more than a century, the term […]
The Excellence Divided by Tom Peters
The Excellence Dividend is Tom Peters newest thinking about excellence. Meeting the Tech Tide with work that wows and jobs […]
The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization by Peter M. Senge,
The Learning Organization. The idea of a “learning organization” may pre-brought it into the conversation about organizational excellence. The idea […]
The Five Priority Actions in the Climate Adaptation Action Plan
From the US EPA The 2021 EPA Climate Adaptation Action Plan contains five agency-wide priority actions and measures to evaluate […]
The Great Good Places, Cafés, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community by Ray Oldenburg
Ray Oldenburg defined a place that defines a community. “Third place” is a concept that serves small cities and towns […]
The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation
The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation is a great guide for those interested in […]
The Image of the City
The Image of the City by Kevin Lynch is one of the all-time best contributions to the art and science […]
The Limits to Growth by Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jorgen Randers, William W. Behrens III
The message of this book still holds today: The earth’s interlocking resources – the global system of nature in which we […]