James and Nancy Duncan look at how the aesthetics of physical landscapes are fully enmeshed in producing the American class system. Focusing on an archetypal upper class American suburb-Bedford in Westchester County; NY-they show how the physical presentation of a place carries with it a range of markers of inclusion and exclusion.
#2018439 in eBooks 2004-02-24 2004-02-24File Name: B000OI0R24
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. SongbookBy The Inconsistent ReaderI thought this book was outstanding. It was very interesting to hear about Mr. Hornbys relationship to music and certain songs in particular. It was fascinating to get inside the head of someone who wanted to be a musician; but decided to become a writer because it was the closest he could get to writing songs. These arent necessarily Mr. Hornbys favorite songs; they are songs with which he has a special relationship; not necessarily because of certain memories that the songs summon up; but because the song themselves; the music and the lyrics together; give him something to think about.If you enjoy reading about the impact music has had on the lives and thoughts of other people; I would suggest reading this book. It is well-written; and personally; I always find Mr. Hornby can make me laugh; even while hes discussing a serious topic. Definitely worth the price of admission!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A great book to dip into.By CustomerI didnt know all the songs that he writes about; but in a way it doesnt matter as there are some great insights and riffs on songs and the meaning they accumulate in a persons life. It made we want to search out the songs and listen to them for myself.As with other Hornby books; the readability of his prose belies the complexity and layering of ideas. There is a compelling momentum that builds within each piece. Each "little" essay is self contained insight into the music and the man. It has the flavour of an auto-biography told through his relationship with music. It takes great skill to write like that.Its a fantastic book to dip into; but the pre-condition is you need a similar obsessive sensibility to music; or more properly popular music; as Hornby has. If you think of music as background; this book is not for you. But if you still remember the first record you bought or concert you went to; where you were; how old you were than you will relate to this book.49 of 50 people found the following review helpful. my awesome mix tape #38By Clare QuiltyI bought this book; sight unseen; simply because of the description; which was: Nick Hornby; one of my favorite writers; had written a book about a bunch of his favorite songs. Thats all I needed to know; that sounded great to me; I was sold.Ive been a Hornby fan since Fever Pitch. When High Fidelity (the book) came out; I was amazed: it felt like Hornby had been eavesdropping on my mind; because I tend to agree with a lot of his opinions about music and music lovers. Similarly; Im a big fan of the reviews he wrote for The New Yorker a few years ago.So I ordered the book and it showed up in my box and I immediately turned to the table of contents to see: which songs did he write about??? And I was surprised; and a bit disappointed; to see that I only recognized about a dozen of the titles. And there wasnt one song in the bunch that I considered a personal favorite. And when I listened to the songs I didnt know (included on a handy-dandy CD)... they didnt blow me away. But thats the beauty of a mix tape and; despite the fact that its printed on paper; this is a mix tape.And this one comes with great liner notes. Hornbys a smart; entertaining; intuitive writer. I may sound like a disappointed fan trying to make the best of a book that didnt satisfy me 100%; but even when Hornbys writing about music I havent heard; its still enjoyable; its still worthwhile; its still exposing me to things I previously didnt know about.Even when hes confessing to not being a huge Dylan fan and confesses to preferring a Rod Stewart cover of one of my favorite Dylan songs to the original (which is; of course; the true road to enternal damnation); he does so in a way thats completely relatable even to a Dylan fanatic.Even when hes extolling the virtues of a song I find to be "sad bastard" music (like he does in his essay about Mark Mulcahys "Hey Self Defeater") he manages to include a great; conversational subtext about the virtues of small; privately owned; slowly-becomming-extinct record stores with a personal touch.This is also a beautifully designed McSweeny book; with a beautiful "Maxell XL-II" mix-tape cover and with clever illustrations by Marcel Dzama. The book also benefits Treehouse Trust and 826 Valencia; organizations that are extremely worthy of the extra money.Hornby should do one of these a year; I think. And next time; itd be nice if hed touch on his favorite Stones songs; his favorite Stax songs; his favorite Steve Earle songs; his favorite blues; his favorite jazz; his favorite Clash songs; etc; etc. If hell write it; Ill read it.