With a global view and his eyes cast skyward, Barr provides an enjoyable, expansive study of a subject he loves.
An examination of “how the trajectories of globalization and urbanization, and our evolving tastes and needs, have created the world’s skylines.”
Whether you love them or loathe them, it is hard to deny that skyscrapers define the look and feel of modern cities. Barr, a professor of economics who has been studying skyscrapers for many years, has a great affection for them. In this follow-up to Building the Skyline, the author looks at both the history and the current landscape, emphasizing the link between the buildings and the social environment in which they exist. In the 20th century, skyscrapers were largely an American phenomenon, with the Empire State Building being the embodiment of the idea for decades after it opened in 1931. Others would follow in the postwar era, reflecting the confidence of the time. Architects love them as a chance to strut their creative stuff, but the property developers always have an eye on profitability. Skyscrapers, in fact, generally turn out to be good investments. In the 21st century, the focus of the business has moved to Asia, home to 9 of the 10 tallest buildings in the world. Five are in mainland China, but there are also some remarkable examples in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Malaysia. The trend is to mix corporate offices with residential, retail, and recreational space. The prize for the most ambitious effort probably goes to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, “the current world’s tallest building.” Construction at this level involves huge technical problems, but innovative designs and new building methods are pointing toward the next generation. “The engineering know-how to create a one-mile structure…is here,” Barr writes, continuing, “[I]f history is any guide, the journey will remain ever upward.”
With a global view and his eyes cast skyward, Barr provides an enjoyable, expansive study of a subject he loves.Pub Date: May 14, 2024
ISBN: 9781982174217
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
Maher calls out idiocy wherever he sees it, with a comedic delivery that veers between a stiletto and a sledgehammer.
The comedian argues that the arts of moderation and common sense must be reinvigorated.
Some people are born snarky, some become snarky, and some have snarkiness thrust upon them. Judging from this book, Maher—host of HBO’s Real Time program and author of The New New Rules and When You Ride Alone, You Ride With bin Laden—is all three. As a comedian, he has a great deal of leeway to make fun of people in politics, and he often delivers hilarious swipes with a deadpan face. The author describes himself as a traditional liberal, with a disdain for Republicans (especially the MAGA variety) and a belief in free speech and personal freedom. He claims that he has stayed much the same for more than 20 years, while the left, he argues, has marched toward intolerance. He sees an addiction to extremism on both sides of the aisle, which fosters the belief that anyone who disagrees with you must be an enemy to be destroyed. However, Maher has always displayed his own streaks of extremism, and his scorched-earth takedowns eventually become problematic. The author has something nasty to say about everyone, it seems, and the sarcastic tone starts after more than 300 pages. As has been the case throughout his career, Maher is best taken in small doses. The book is worth reading for the author’s often spot-on skewering of inept politicians and celebrities, but it might be advisable to occasionally dip into it rather than read the whole thing in one sitting. Some parts of the text are hilarious, but others are merely insulting. Maher is undeniably talented, but some restraint would have produced a better book.
Maher calls out idiocy wherever he sees it, with a comedic delivery that veers between a stiletto and a sledgehammer.Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781668051351
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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