-
The Five-Ton Life: Carbon, America, and the Culture That May Save Us
- Our Sustainable Future
- Narrated by: Rosemary Benson
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The Five-Ton Life: Carbon, America, and the Culture That May Save Us
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Good Food Revolution
- Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities
- By: Will Allen, Charles Wilson - with, Eric Schlosser - foreword
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
A pioneering urban farmer and MacArthur "Genius Award" winner points the way to building a new food system that can feed - and heal - broken communities. An eco-classic in the making, The Good Food Revolution is the story of Will's personal journey, the lives he has touched, and a grassroots movement that is changing the way our nation eats.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This story teaches how to take back the soil
- By Shawn Borup on 11-09-19
By: Will Allen, and others
-
The 99% Invisible City
- A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design
- By: Kurt Kohlstedt, Roman Mars
- Narrated by: Roman Mars
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 590
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 487
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 487
99% Invisible is a big-ideas podcast about small-seeming things, revealing stories baked into the buildings we inhabit, the streets we drive, and the sidewalks we traverse. The show celebrates design and architecture in all of its functional glory and accidental absurdity, with intriguing tales of both designers and the people impacted by their designs.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The 99% Invisible City
- By Louise Schraa on 01-09-21
By: Kurt Kohlstedt, and others
-
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
- 50th Anniversary Edition
- By: Jane Jacobs, Jason Epstein - introduction
- Narrated by: Donna Rawlins
- Length: 18 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 673
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 560
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 552
Thirty years after its publication, The Death and Life of Great American Cities was described by The New York Times as "perhaps the most influential single work in the history of town planning....[It] can also be seen in a much larger context. It is first of all a work of literature; the descriptions of street life as a kind of ballet and the bitingly satiric account of traditional planning theory can still be read for pleasure even by those who long ago absorbed and appropriated the book's arguments."
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic text, dull on audio
- By Meghan on 02-13-15
By: Jane Jacobs, and others
-
The Blue Zones of Happiness
- Lessons from the World's Happiest People
- By: Dan Buettner, Ed Diener
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor, Dan Buettner
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 271
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 222
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 220
In this inspiring book, Buettner offers game-changing tools for setting up your life to be the happiest it can be. In this illuminating book, you'll meet the world's Happiness All-Stars - inspiring individuals whose ways of boosting well-being can influence your home and community as well.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Missing PDF
- By Amazon Customer on 01-11-18
By: Dan Buettner, and others
-
What I Found in a Thousand Towns
- A Traveling Musician's Guide to Rebuilding America's Communities-One Coffee Shop, Dog Run, and Open-Mike Night at a Time
- By: Dar Williams
- Narrated by: Dar Williams
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
A beloved folk singer presents an impassioned account of the fall and rise of the small American towns she cherishes. Dubbed by the New Yorker as "one of America's very best singer-songwriters", Dar Williams has made her career not in stadiums, but touring America's small towns. She has played their venues, composed in their coffee shops, and drunk in their bars. She has seen these communities struggle, but also seen them thrive in the face of postindustrial identity crises.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Three or four stars.
- By D. Frrazier on 02-11-21
By: Dar Williams
-
The Town That Food Saved
- How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food
- By: Ben Hewitt
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 144
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 119
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 118
Over the past several years, Hardwick, Vermont, a typical hardscrabble farming community of three thousand residents, has jump-started its economy and redefined its self-image through a local, self-sustaining food system unlike anything else in America.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Trepidation turned to intruige
- By Richard on 10-09-12
By: Ben Hewitt
-
The Good Food Revolution
- Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities
- By: Will Allen, Charles Wilson - with, Eric Schlosser - foreword
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
A pioneering urban farmer and MacArthur "Genius Award" winner points the way to building a new food system that can feed - and heal - broken communities. An eco-classic in the making, The Good Food Revolution is the story of Will's personal journey, the lives he has touched, and a grassroots movement that is changing the way our nation eats.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This story teaches how to take back the soil
- By Shawn Borup on 11-09-19
By: Will Allen, and others
-
The 99% Invisible City
- A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design
- By: Kurt Kohlstedt, Roman Mars
- Narrated by: Roman Mars
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 590
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 487
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 487
99% Invisible is a big-ideas podcast about small-seeming things, revealing stories baked into the buildings we inhabit, the streets we drive, and the sidewalks we traverse. The show celebrates design and architecture in all of its functional glory and accidental absurdity, with intriguing tales of both designers and the people impacted by their designs.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The 99% Invisible City
- By Louise Schraa on 01-09-21
By: Kurt Kohlstedt, and others
-
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
- 50th Anniversary Edition
- By: Jane Jacobs, Jason Epstein - introduction
- Narrated by: Donna Rawlins
- Length: 18 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 673
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 560
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 552
Thirty years after its publication, The Death and Life of Great American Cities was described by The New York Times as "perhaps the most influential single work in the history of town planning....[It] can also be seen in a much larger context. It is first of all a work of literature; the descriptions of street life as a kind of ballet and the bitingly satiric account of traditional planning theory can still be read for pleasure even by those who long ago absorbed and appropriated the book's arguments."
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic text, dull on audio
- By Meghan on 02-13-15
By: Jane Jacobs, and others
-
The Blue Zones of Happiness
- Lessons from the World's Happiest People
- By: Dan Buettner, Ed Diener
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor, Dan Buettner
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 271
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 222
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 220
In this inspiring book, Buettner offers game-changing tools for setting up your life to be the happiest it can be. In this illuminating book, you'll meet the world's Happiness All-Stars - inspiring individuals whose ways of boosting well-being can influence your home and community as well.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Missing PDF
- By Amazon Customer on 01-11-18
By: Dan Buettner, and others
-
What I Found in a Thousand Towns
- A Traveling Musician's Guide to Rebuilding America's Communities-One Coffee Shop, Dog Run, and Open-Mike Night at a Time
- By: Dar Williams
- Narrated by: Dar Williams
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
A beloved folk singer presents an impassioned account of the fall and rise of the small American towns she cherishes. Dubbed by the New Yorker as "one of America's very best singer-songwriters", Dar Williams has made her career not in stadiums, but touring America's small towns. She has played their venues, composed in their coffee shops, and drunk in their bars. She has seen these communities struggle, but also seen them thrive in the face of postindustrial identity crises.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Three or four stars.
- By D. Frrazier on 02-11-21
By: Dar Williams
-
The Town That Food Saved
- How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food
- By: Ben Hewitt
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 144
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 119
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 118
Over the past several years, Hardwick, Vermont, a typical hardscrabble farming community of three thousand residents, has jump-started its economy and redefined its self-image through a local, self-sustaining food system unlike anything else in America.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Trepidation turned to intruige
- By Richard on 10-09-12
By: Ben Hewitt
-
Who’s Your City?
- How the Creative Economy Is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life
- By: Richard Florida
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 49
All places are not created equal. In this groundbreaking book, Richard Florida shows that where we live is increasingly a crucial factor in our lives, one that fundamentally affects our professional and personal prospects. As well as explaining why place matters now more than ever, Who's Your City? provides indispensable tools to help you choose the right place for you.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By Mimi Routh on 08-08-10
By: Richard Florida
-
Miraculous Abundance
- One Quarter Acre, Two French Farmers, and Enough Food to Feed the World
- By: Perrine Hervé-Gruyer, Charles Hervé-Gruyer
- Narrated by: Tim Bruce
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 109
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 92
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 92
When Charles and Perrine Hervé-Gruyer set out to create their farm in an historic Normandy village, they had no idea just how much their lives would change. Neither one had ever farmed before. Charles had been circumnavigating the globe by sail, operating a floating school that taught students about ecology and indigenous cultures. Perrine had been an international lawyer in Japan. Each had returned to France to start a new life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Nice book
- By Ganesh on 02-08-18
By: Perrine Hervé-Gruyer, and others
-
Garbology
- Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash
- By: Edward Humes
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 151
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 129
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 129
The average American produces 102 tons of garbage across a lifetime, and $50 billion in squandered riches are rolled to the curb each year. But our bins are just the starting point for a strange, impressive, mysterious, and costly journey that may also represent the greatest untapped opportunity of the century. In Garbology, Edward Humes investigates trash - what's in it; how much we pay for it; how we manage to create so much of it; and how some families, communities, and even nations are finding a way back from waste to discover a new kind of prosperity.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A phenomenal read & serious eye-opener
- By Andy Feicht on 10-07-18
By: Edward Humes
-
Kiss the Ground
- How the Food You Eat Can Reverse Climate Change, Heal Your Body & Ultimately Save Our World
- By: Josh Tickell, John Mackey - foreword
- Narrated by: Josh Tickell
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 325
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 277
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 278
Through fascinating and accessible interviews with celebrity chefs, ranchers, farmers, and top scientists, this remarkable book, soon to be a full-length documentary film narrated by Woody Harrelson, will teach you how to become an agent in humanity's single most important and time sensitive mission. Reverse climate change and effectively save the world - all through the choices you make in how and what to eat.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Recommended by a crop consultant's wife in Kansas
- By CarolynKansas on 02-02-18
By: Josh Tickell, and others
-
The Upcycle
- Beyond Sustainability - Designing for Abundance
- By: William McDonough, Michael Braungart
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 141
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 120
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 124
The Upcycle is the eagerly awaited follow-up to Cradle to Cradle, the most consequential ecological manifesto of our time. Now, drawing on the lessons gained from 10 years of putting the cradle-to-cradle concept into practice with businesses, governments, and ordinary people, William McDonough and Michael Braungart envision the next step in the solution to our ecological crisis: We don't just reuse resources with greater effectiveness, we actually improve them as we use them.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A "must read" for the environmental movement.
- By Love owls on 07-09-13
By: William McDonough, and others
-
Cradle to Cradle
- Remaking the Way We Make Things
- By: William McDonough, Michael Braungart
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 420
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 301
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 304
"Reduce, reuse, recycle," urge environmentalists. In other words, do more with less in order to minimize damage. William McDonough and Michael Braungart argue in this provocative book that this approach perpetuates a one-way, "cradle to grave" manufacturing model that dates back to the Industrial Revolution, a model that casts off as much as 90 percent of the materials it uses as waste, much of it toxic. They challenge the notion that human industry must inevitably damage the natural world.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
a step ahead
- By Andy on 01-10-10
By: William McDonough, and others
-
Americans Against the City
- Anti-Urbanism in the Twentieth Century
- By: Steven Conn
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
An aversion to urban density and all that it contributes to urban life, and a perception that the city was the place where "big government" first took root in America fostered what historian Steven Conn terms the "anti-urban impulse." In this provocative and sweeping audiobook, Conn explores the anti-urban impulse across the 20th century, examining how the ideas born of it have shaped both the places in which Americans live and work, and the anti-government politics so strong today.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent book
- By M. M. Conroy on 09-19-20
By: Steven Conn
-
The New Urban Crisis
- How Our Cities Are Increasing Inequality, Deepening Segregation, and Failing the Middle Class - and What We Can Do About It
- By: Richard Florida
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 202
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 163
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 160
In recent years the young, educated, and affluent have surged back into cities, reversing decades of suburban flight and urban decline. And yet all is not well, Richard Florida argues in The New Urban Crisis. Florida demonstrates how the same forces that power the growth of the world's superstar cities also generate their vexing challenges: gentrification, unaffordability, segregation, and inequality.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Audiobook review: Maps, figures, charts, etc?
- By on vacation on 06-18-17
By: Richard Florida
-
Boom, Bust, Exodus
- The Rust Belt, the Maquilas, and a Tale of Two Cities
- By: Chad Broughton
- Narrated by: Stephen McLaughlin
- Length: 15 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
In 2002, the town of Galesburg, a slowly declining Rustbelt city of 33,000 in western Illinois, learned that it would soon lose its largest factory, a Maytag refrigerator plant that had anchored Galesburg's social and economic life for decades. Workers at the plant earned $15.14 an hour, had good insurance, and were assured a solid retirement. In 2004, the plant was relocated to Reynosa, Mexico, where workers sometimes spent 13-hour days assembling refrigerators for $1.10 an hour.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Story I thought I Knew
- By Meek84 on 07-08-18
By: Chad Broughton
-
How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change the World
- Why Self-Driving Car Technology Will Usher in a New Age of Prosperity and Disruption. Robot Automation, Musk, Bezos & the Electric Revolution of the Future
- By: Anthony Raymond
- Narrated by: Anthony Raymond
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 41
Take a look at the vehicle sitting in your driveway. It may be the last one you ever own. With an estimated 33 million fully autonomous cars and taxis projected to hit the road by 2040, an automotive renaissance is soon to be upon us. Personal car ownership currently costs the average sedan owner $9,000 annually. But car ownership may soon be a thing of the past.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Boring book
- By J. Hastings on 10-24-21
By: Anthony Raymond
-
The Story of Stuff
- By: Annie Leonard
- Narrated by: Annie Leonard
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 219
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 155
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 152
We have a system in crisis, but Annie Leonard shows us that this is not the way things have to be. It's within our power to stop the environmental damage, social injustice, and health hazards caused by polluting production and excessive consumption, and Leonard shows us how. Expansive, galvanizing, and sobering yet optimistic, The Story of Stuff transforms how we think about our lives and our relationship to the planet.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A wonderful eye opening book everyone should read!
- By Meghan N on 04-24-10
By: Annie Leonard
-
Divided Highways
- Building the Interstate Highways, Transforming American Life
- By: Tom Lewis
- Narrated by: Jim D. Johnston
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
In Divided Highways, Tom Lewis offers an encompassing account of highway development in the United States. In the early twentieth century Congress created the Bureau of Public Roads to improve roads and the lives of rural Americans. The Bureau was the forerunner of the Interstate Highway System of 1956, which promoted a technocratic approach to modern road building sometimes at the expense of individual lives, regional characteristics, and the landscape.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Lots of interesting facts. Poor narration
- By Richard Joyce on 06-01-21
By: Tom Lewis
Publisher's summary
At nearly 20 tons per person, American carbon dioxide emissions are among the highest in the world. Not every American fits this statistic, however. Across the country, there are urban neighborhoods, suburbs, rural areas, and commercial institutions that have drastically lower carbon footprints. These exceptional places, as it turns out, are neither “poor” nor technologically advanced. Their low emissions are due to culture.
In The Five-Ton Life, Susan Subak uses previously untapped sources to discover and explore various low-carbon locations. In Washington, DC, Chicago suburbs, lower Manhattan, and Amish settlements in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, she examines the built and social environment to discern the characteristics that contribute to lower greenhouse-gas emissions. The most decisive factors that decrease energy use are a commitment to small interiors and social cohesion, although each example exhibits its own dynamics and offers its own lessons for the rest of the country.
Bringing a fresh approach to the quandary of American household consumption, Subak’s groundbreaking research provides many pathways toward a future that is inspiring and rooted in America’s own traditions.
The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.
“A wonderfully crafted book.... It's a great, very readable addition.” (Johannes Stripple, Editor of Governing the Climate: New Approaches to Rationality, Power, and Politics)
Related to this topic
-
Green Metropolis
- What the City Can Teach the Country About True Sustainability
- By: David Owen
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 49
In this remarkable challenge to conventional thinking about the environment, David Owen argues that the greenest community in the United States is not Portland, Oregon, or Snowmass, Colorado, but New York City.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
A stupid and dangerously short sighted view
- By Gare&Sophia on 11-13-12
By: David Owen
-
The End of the Suburbs
- Where the American Dream is Moving
- By: Leigh Gallagher
- Narrated by: Jessica Geffen
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 63
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 63
For nearly 70 years, the suburbs were as American as apple pie. But in recent years things have started to change. An epic housing crisis revealed existing problems with this unique pattern of development, while the steady pull of long-simmering economic, societal and demographic forces has culminated in a Perfect Storm that has led to a profound shift in the way we desire to live. In The End of the Suburbs journalist Leigh Gallagher traces the rise and fall of American suburbia from the stately railroad suburbs that sprung up outside American cities in the 19th and early 20th centuries to current-day sprawling exurbs.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Informative, but the title is a lie
- By Marie on 08-27-13
By: Leigh Gallagher
-
Walkable City
- How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time
- By: Jeff Speck
- Narrated by: Jeff Speck
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 973
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 855
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 846
Jeff Speck has dedicated his career to determining what makes cities thrive. And he has boiled it down to one key factor: walkability. The very idea of a modern metropolis evokes visions of bustling sidewalks, vital mass transit, and a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly urban core. But in the typical American city, the car is still king, and downtown is a place that’s easy to drive to but often not worth arriving at. Making walkability happen is relatively easy and cheap; seeing exactly what needs to be done is the trick.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting topic and thoughtful insight, subpar recording.
- By Andrew Nicks on 05-12-18
By: Jeff Speck
-
Crabgrass Frontier
- The Suburbanization of the United States
- By: Kenneth T. Jackson
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 88
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
This first full-scale history of the development of the American suburb examines how "the good life" in America came to be equated with the a home of one's own surrounded by a grassy yard and located far from the urban workplace. Integrating social history with economic and architectural analysis, and taking into account such factors as the availability of cheap land, inexpensive building methods, and rapid transportation, Kenneth Jackson chronicles the phenomenal growth of the American suburb from the middle of the 19th century to the present day.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
There is so much to think about here.
- By Richard McKown on 06-25-23
-
Happy City
- Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design
- By: Charles Montgomery
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 373
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 335
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 335
After decades of unchecked sprawl, more people than ever are moving back to the city. Dense urban living has been prescribed as a panacea for the environmental and resource crises of our time. But is it better or worse for our happiness? Are subways, sidewalks, and tower dwelling improvements on the car dependence of sprawl?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great book-terrible narrator
- By Amazon Customer on 02-04-19
-
Triumph of the City
- How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier
- By: Edward Glaeser
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 421
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 348
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 343
America is an urban nation. More than two thirds of us live on the three percent of land that contains our cities. Yet cities get a bad rap: they're dirty, poor, unhealthy, crime ridden, expensive, environmentally unfriendly. Or are they? As Edward Glaeser proves in this myth-shattering book, cities are actually the healthiest, greenest, and richest (in cultural and economic terms) places to live.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Urbanophile Brain Candy
- By Clay Downing on 12-18-15
By: Edward Glaeser
-
Green Metropolis
- What the City Can Teach the Country About True Sustainability
- By: David Owen
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 49
In this remarkable challenge to conventional thinking about the environment, David Owen argues that the greenest community in the United States is not Portland, Oregon, or Snowmass, Colorado, but New York City.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
A stupid and dangerously short sighted view
- By Gare&Sophia on 11-13-12
By: David Owen
-
The End of the Suburbs
- Where the American Dream is Moving
- By: Leigh Gallagher
- Narrated by: Jessica Geffen
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 63
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 63
For nearly 70 years, the suburbs were as American as apple pie. But in recent years things have started to change. An epic housing crisis revealed existing problems with this unique pattern of development, while the steady pull of long-simmering economic, societal and demographic forces has culminated in a Perfect Storm that has led to a profound shift in the way we desire to live. In The End of the Suburbs journalist Leigh Gallagher traces the rise and fall of American suburbia from the stately railroad suburbs that sprung up outside American cities in the 19th and early 20th centuries to current-day sprawling exurbs.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Informative, but the title is a lie
- By Marie on 08-27-13
By: Leigh Gallagher
-
Walkable City
- How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time
- By: Jeff Speck
- Narrated by: Jeff Speck
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 973
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 855
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 846
Jeff Speck has dedicated his career to determining what makes cities thrive. And he has boiled it down to one key factor: walkability. The very idea of a modern metropolis evokes visions of bustling sidewalks, vital mass transit, and a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly urban core. But in the typical American city, the car is still king, and downtown is a place that’s easy to drive to but often not worth arriving at. Making walkability happen is relatively easy and cheap; seeing exactly what needs to be done is the trick.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting topic and thoughtful insight, subpar recording.
- By Andrew Nicks on 05-12-18
By: Jeff Speck
-
Crabgrass Frontier
- The Suburbanization of the United States
- By: Kenneth T. Jackson
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 88
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
This first full-scale history of the development of the American suburb examines how "the good life" in America came to be equated with the a home of one's own surrounded by a grassy yard and located far from the urban workplace. Integrating social history with economic and architectural analysis, and taking into account such factors as the availability of cheap land, inexpensive building methods, and rapid transportation, Kenneth Jackson chronicles the phenomenal growth of the American suburb from the middle of the 19th century to the present day.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
There is so much to think about here.
- By Richard McKown on 06-25-23
-
Happy City
- Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design
- By: Charles Montgomery
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 373
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 335
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 335
After decades of unchecked sprawl, more people than ever are moving back to the city. Dense urban living has been prescribed as a panacea for the environmental and resource crises of our time. But is it better or worse for our happiness? Are subways, sidewalks, and tower dwelling improvements on the car dependence of sprawl?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great book-terrible narrator
- By Amazon Customer on 02-04-19
-
Triumph of the City
- How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier
- By: Edward Glaeser
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 421
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 348
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 343
America is an urban nation. More than two thirds of us live on the three percent of land that contains our cities. Yet cities get a bad rap: they're dirty, poor, unhealthy, crime ridden, expensive, environmentally unfriendly. Or are they? As Edward Glaeser proves in this myth-shattering book, cities are actually the healthiest, greenest, and richest (in cultural and economic terms) places to live.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Urbanophile Brain Candy
- By Clay Downing on 12-18-15
By: Edward Glaeser
-
The Well-Tempered City
- What Modern Science, Ancient Civilizations, and Human Nature Teach Us About the Future of Urban Life
- By: Jonathan F. P. Rose
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 63
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 62
Cities are birthplaces of civilization; centers of culture, trade, and progress; cauldrons of opportunity - and the home of 80 percent of the world's population by 2050. As the 21st century progresses, metropolitan areas will bear the brunt of global megatrends such as climate change, natural resource depletion, population growth, income inequality, mass migrations, and education and health disparities, among many others.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
The best way to save the future is to look at the past
- By Kate on 10-01-22
-
Street Smart
- The Rise of Cities and the Fall of Cars
- By: Samuel I. Schwartz, William Rosen - contributor
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 129
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 116
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 116
With wit and sharp insight, former Traffic Commissioner of New York City, Sam Schwartz a.k.a. "Gridlock Sam", one of the most respected transportation engineers in the world and consummate insider in NYC political circles, uncovers how American cities became so beholden to cars and why the current shift away from that trend will forever alter America's urban landscapes, marking nothing short of a revolution in how we get from place to place.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting, thought provoking, and hopeful
- By JKuster on 03-07-20
By: Samuel I. Schwartz, and others
-
The Rise and Fall of American Growth
- The U.S. Standard of Living Since the Civil War
- By: Robert J. Gordon
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 30 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 513
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 424
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 422
In the century after the Civil War, an economic revolution improved the American standard of living in ways previously unimaginable. Electric lighting, indoor plumbing, home appliances, motor vehicles, air travel, air conditioning, and television transformed households and workplaces. With medical advances, life expectancy between 1870 and 1970 grew from 45 to 72 years. The Rise and Fall of American Growth provides an in-depth account of this momentous era.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Over-detailed, with no engaging message
- By BehA on 01-31-17
By: Robert J. Gordon
-
How to Kill a City
- Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood
- By: Peter Moskowitz
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 258
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 227
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 223
The term gentrification has become a buzzword to describe the changes in urban neighborhoods across the country, but we don't realize just how threatening it is. It means more than the arrival of trendy shops, much-maligned hipsters, and expensive lattes. The very future of American cities as vibrant, equitable spaces hangs in the balance. How to Kill a City takes listeners from the kitchen tables of hurting families who can no longer afford their homes to the corporate boardrooms and political backrooms where destructive housing policies are devised.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Unproductive criticism.
- By Aaron Rogers on 06-01-18
By: Peter Moskowitz
-
Trees in Paradise
- A California History
- By: Jared Farmer
- Narrated by: Kevin Scollin
- Length: 19 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 54
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
California now has more trees than at any time since the late Pleistocene. This green landscape, however, is not the work of nature. It’s the work of history. In the years after the Gold Rush, American settlers remade the California landscape, harnessing nature to their vision of the good life. Horticulturists, boosters, and civic reformers began to "improve" the bare, brown countryside, planting millions of trees to create groves, wooded suburbs, and landscaped cities.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
lovely audiobook
- By Michael M. on 08-02-22
By: Jared Farmer
-
The Big Roads
- The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways
- By: Earl Swift
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 166
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 149
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 147
From author Earl Swift comes the surprising history of the U.S. interstate system, a fascinating route through the dreams, discoveries, and protests that shaped these mighty roads.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Lessons from The Big Roads
- By Joshua Kim on 05-06-12
By: Earl Swift
-
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
- 50th Anniversary Edition
- By: Jane Jacobs, Jason Epstein - introduction
- Narrated by: Donna Rawlins
- Length: 18 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 673
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 560
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 552
Thirty years after its publication, The Death and Life of Great American Cities was described by The New York Times as "perhaps the most influential single work in the history of town planning....[It] can also be seen in a much larger context. It is first of all a work of literature; the descriptions of street life as a kind of ballet and the bitingly satiric account of traditional planning theory can still be read for pleasure even by those who long ago absorbed and appropriated the book's arguments."
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic text, dull on audio
- By Meghan on 02-13-15
By: Jane Jacobs, and others
-
Sun, Sin, Suburbia
- The History of Modern Las Vegas Revised and Expanded
- By: Geoff Schumacher
- Narrated by: Douglas R. Pratt
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 55
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 46
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 46
Las Vegas is gambling's mecca - Sin City the Entertainment Capital of the World with 40 million visitors a year. But that's just part of the story. This carefully documented history tracks the rise of Las Vegas from its vital role in World War II, of the Rat Pack era of the 50s, the explosive growth of the 90s, and it's colossal collapse in the post 2008 real-estate crash. It offers a history of the iconic Strip, but also profiles the neighborhoods where over 2 million people live.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good History of Vegas - old, modern and mundane
- By Amazon Customer on 06-13-14
By: Geoff Schumacher
-
The Road Taken
- The History and Future of America's Infrastructure
- By: Henry Petroski
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 54
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 45
Physical infrastructure in the United States is crumbling. The American Society of Civil Engineers has, in its latest report, given American roads and bridges a grade of D and C+, respectively, and has described roughly 65,000 bridges in the United States as 'structurally deficient'. This crisis - and one need look no further than the I-35W bridge collapse in Minnesota to see that it is indeed a crisis - shows little sign of abating short of a massive change in attitude amongst politicians and the American public.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well put
- By Lawrence on 08-10-17
By: Henry Petroski
-
The Upcycle
- Beyond Sustainability - Designing for Abundance
- By: William McDonough, Michael Braungart
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 141
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 120
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 124
The Upcycle is the eagerly awaited follow-up to Cradle to Cradle, the most consequential ecological manifesto of our time. Now, drawing on the lessons gained from 10 years of putting the cradle-to-cradle concept into practice with businesses, governments, and ordinary people, William McDonough and Michael Braungart envision the next step in the solution to our ecological crisis: We don't just reuse resources with greater effectiveness, we actually improve them as we use them.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A "must read" for the environmental movement.
- By Love owls on 07-09-13
By: William McDonough, and others
-
Divided Highways
- Building the Interstate Highways, Transforming American Life
- By: Tom Lewis
- Narrated by: Jim D. Johnston
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
In Divided Highways, Tom Lewis offers an encompassing account of highway development in the United States. In the early twentieth century Congress created the Bureau of Public Roads to improve roads and the lives of rural Americans. The Bureau was the forerunner of the Interstate Highway System of 1956, which promoted a technocratic approach to modern road building sometimes at the expense of individual lives, regional characteristics, and the landscape.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Lots of interesting facts. Poor narration
- By Richard Joyce on 06-01-21
By: Tom Lewis
-
The Good Food Revolution
- Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities
- By: Will Allen, Charles Wilson - with, Eric Schlosser - foreword
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
A pioneering urban farmer and MacArthur "Genius Award" winner points the way to building a new food system that can feed - and heal - broken communities. An eco-classic in the making, The Good Food Revolution is the story of Will's personal journey, the lives he has touched, and a grassroots movement that is changing the way our nation eats.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This story teaches how to take back the soil
- By Shawn Borup on 11-09-19
By: Will Allen, and others
What listeners say about The Five-Ton Life: Carbon, America, and the Culture That May Save Us
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- Shawn Oueinsteen
- 01-30-19
George Washington & Climate Change?
Subak's heart is in the right place, but as someone fighting global warming, she's very weird. She claims Washington was a low-carbon guru, but never mentions it wouldn't be if not for his slaves. She ignores the fossil fuel industry, and thinks if we all suffer, it will fix global warming.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful